My First High-Grade Morgan / TPG advice

It's this 1898 Morgan dollar that I got for 50 bucks, and looking at my Red Book it seems like a fair price and an accurate grade judging by what the book told me to look for. The seller (antique store owner whom I trust) judged it to be MS-60 and priced at $50.00 USD. I love how this coin looks, as I do all old US silver. Bought this instead of a reverse proof 5 dollar silver maple leaf for 40 bucks. I'm happy with the purchase, and glad I could get my hands on more US silver.

I'm thinking of getting this graded by ICG due to the fact that PCGS and NGC on top of being very expensive for someone in school and working part time such as myself, they also require some sort of membership. To be fair I haven't read much on the subject, but these two "big dogs" seem pretty exclusive, which is why I'll be going with ICG. Here's a table of the prices: https://www.icgcoin.com/fees-services/
Seeing this, I'll only need to spend $37.00 USD plus postage to send in the coins. Very affordable for me. I can hardly think of 10 coins to send in, but I think my mystery challenge coin will be among them.

These were my reasons for choosing ICG, however are there any reasons not to go with them? They seem promising, but I know there are other grading services that may be just as good. I'm new to the grading scene, and these will be my first certified coins. I'm hoping to make the right choice, because I just think TPG slabs are really cool. What should I do in regards to shipping? Should the coins do fine in flips in a normal paper envelope, plastic holders in a paper envelope, or maybe either of those in a bubble wrapped envelope? I'm not sure, so if any of you guys with experience could help me out with the process it would be greatly appreciated.

Overall, I think I'll have good luck with the TPG process. I really like my new coins, and am looking forward to enjoying these new ones for years to come. I'm glad I found an affordable TPG company and look forward to working with them. I also am lucky to have a vendor so close to home that doesn't over charge for coins as well. It's always a good day when you get old US silver. Now here is the Morgan:

And the mystery challenge coin I plan to send with it in case you haven't seen it: Thank you all for your time.

 

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We all have to start somewhere, but I'm a tick afraid that what the dealer called MS60 might get called Uncirculated details by a TPG.
Maybe the pics, but I'm thinking overdipped. Sorry. And I could be wrong.

 

Noah? Ya want it graded? Buy it graded........

 

I was thinking the same thing. This isn't a coin that looks to be worth grading.

It will cost less to buy an already certified common date Morgan than to send it in.

Also, there used to be a CoinTalk special that ICG offered for slightly discounted grading; @Insider can you please confirm if that is still active? If someone is set on sending a coin in (maybe for educational purposes), you might as well save a little more off the listed prices (if the promo is still running).

 

I don't think either of those should be graded.
Buying graded coins is mostly better than submitting since you wouldn't be the one paying any fees.

 

Yup. By the time you add on shipping and grading fees you could have bought an NGC MS64 version already slabbed. I've sent quite a few in for grading over the years. On classics it seems there's an above average chance they will find problems with the coin one way or another. I just submitted a buffalo nickel I was sure was MS63 or higher and it came back whizzed! And it's not easy to see but maybe can tell now. Now it's in my collection as a learning tool.
Morgans are very common. You honestly need something really spectacular to make it worth submitting for grading. There's no $50 Morgan I would send in to get graded. I'd expand that to no $100 Morgan I'd send in to be graded. They're just too common already graded without paying for the risk yourself.

Another thing you're going to find in most series as a "general" rule.... just about anything worth grading has already been submitted for grading. If it looks really nice and shiny and not in a slab there's a high probability it's been cleaned and nobody wanted to send it in , or it's already been in an AU details slab and somebody cracked it out to get more money for it as an unknown raw coin. This happens all the time.

 

I can't comment much on this since I can't see the details. If you want meaningful comments, you should take the coin out of the 2X2 as it takes a lot away from the coin. Photograph the raw coin and give us some pics.

 

I agree, nothing special at all and something isn't right, no luster could be the pics but I would never send it in to be graded. Save your money!

 

Tough love in this post and I agree with every word.

 

The old rule of thumb used to be that an item had to be worth $200 to be worth the slabbing cost. Today it’s probably over $300 given the high shipping costs. As the others said, if you want it certified, buy it certified. This is true because of the cost and because you never know for sure what grade the TPG will give you. Even the experts get fooled now and then.

I have had it go both ways for me. I have also had a few coins get “no grades” from one service and higher grades, like AU and MS-64, from the other. This was with both PCGS and NGC.

 

Yes, any CT member can send in coins (US ONLY) for $10 each + postage. Download our forum on the Net. Be sure to write COIN TALK MEMBER SPECIAL on the forum. Tokens & foreign coins (no ancients) are $15 each.

I would not get the OP's coins slabbed. I'd use the money to buy more coins. Also, until the OP learns to grade, he should ONLY buy coins graded by one of the four major TPGS. Each of the four have their +/- depending on your needs.

And while I'm at it, in spite of what a few well known published authors WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER SO THEY DON"T APPEAR TO BE IGNORANT "fan Boys" afraid of the truth; there are FOUR major TPGS and not just three. That also goes for CT members. It works like this, I may not like certain entries on a list of anything but if something I don't like BELONGS ON THE LIST I put them on it. Additionally, ANACS was not the first TPGS - they are the oldest still in business.

 

Thank you all so much for the advice. I am no longer consider getting them graded, seeing as the Morgan is nothing special. I'll probably be ordering some holders online from Littleton. Now that I've saved nearly forty bucks, maybe I'll buy that Canadian Maple leaf. Once I get home, I'll take the coins out of the 2x2s and photograph them more closely. I realize that it looks sketchy in my photos, but it seems lustrous to me. Granted, I'm no expert but it looks pretty nice in hand. The Morgan will stay in the flip until I get my plastic holders in. Once I start getting more expensive coins I suppose that's when I'll start sending in coins to be graded.

 

I agree. Spend $25 to slab a common Morgan? However, it a free country still, I think.

 

I wish I knew that when I started collecting almost 11 years ago. I bought 2 Liberty gold coins, a 1895 $10 Eagle that he told me it was probably an MS61, which that was exactly what it was graded by NGC. The other is a 1904 $20 Liberty Double Eagle. The dealer said that it, too, would grade an MS61. It probably would have except for a couple of scratches on the Obverse. It graded (if you can call it that) UNC Details, Obverse Scratched. The dealer offered to buy it back, but in my infinite wisdom (ha!), I decided to keep it. I bought a couple of other gold coins from him, one was a graded 2009 MMIX Ultra High Relief, One Ounce God Double Eagle. It graded MS68 and the other a Raw 2010 American Eagle, One Ounce Gold Bullion Coin.
As for your Morgan, it's a toss-up as far as what will happen if it is graded. Best of luck.

 

Wise decision.

 

FWIW - what gives the coin and background that blue color? If you can control it you should try to keep it out.

 

That blue color on the flip and the coin is from my magnifying glass. I typically photograph my coins through it and because it has a ring light, it illuminates it better than my overhead light. My lamp would give it a more warm lighting, and perhaps I should try and see if that's better.

 

anacs charges 140.00 for 10 coins then 24.00 shipping and add insurance if you want, they seem a better deal, and i think in tpg's status better than icg, though i may be wrong (sure someone will bite my head off over that statement, lol)
anyways, that is my 2 cents worth

 

Even if it was a true BU coin, by the time you got it back it would still be a $50 coin. Correct decision not to send it out.
In my opinion, ICG certification does not add much if any value to a coin. PCGS and NGC do add value, but perhaps only $25 or so per coin...which is a lot less than what we pay to get one slabbed. As someone else said, it's usually better to buy a coin already graded.